“Miss Xaio Long, are you feeling up for some training this morning?” he asked.
“Sure am! I can’t wait to get started!” Yang excitedly banged her fists together in anticipation; face lighting up as though she had just remembered it was her birthday.
“Good to hear. This morning, you’ll be fighting alone, against that mech and its pilot. Do you understand the purpose of these exercises?”
“To smash the mech!” Yang yelled out, punching her fist into the air. Blake was not impressed by this answer, and decided to give one of her own.
“It’s to test out the new designs in combat and try to find the flaws in them,” she explained.
“And the easiest way to do that? Smash the mech!” Yang’s excitement was visibly and audibly growing. It had been a while since she’d had a fun battle, as the team had been too dejected recently to enjoy any of their training fights.
The Beacon staff and students heard the sound of more footsteps bouncing around the cavernous room, and turned towards the door. General Ironwood and another military officer they didn’t recognize were approaching them. Ironwood’s dignified demeanour was matched by his associate, a younger man with brown hair kept neatly in a short, professional style. He had a kindly face, and wore a slight smile on it, uncommon on the military men, and it made the girls feel a little more relaxed. His white and grey coat seemed a little long on the man, being a few inches too short in the sleeves for him, but it showed his wide shoulders, large chest and strong forearms off well. His strides seemed to fall into a natural step with Ironwood’s, most likely, Ruby reasoned, because of shared military training. They reached the group, and stopped in front of them, the stranger half a pace behind the general.
“Good morning!” Ironwood boomed, the smile on his face so wide it reached the grey patches in his hair. “I’m pleased you all accepted my invitation. This man here is Colonel Silverbirch, Officer in Charge of Training and Education here at the base.”